For stay-at-home mothers, summer vacation is both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it’s nice to be able to be with your children all day, every day. On the other hand, it leaves you with little to no time for yourself. After all, most of your attention will have to go to your little ones. It might be harder to keep up with your self-care routine during summer, but it’s not impossible. Here are five summer self-care tips to help you unwind during the summer.
Create a summer routine.
Children feel more secure when they have a routine to follow. A predictable day allows them to feel more in control of their environment and manage their expectations of what’s to come. Plus, following a routine makes it easier to take care of your kids. You can plan your routine around their own so that you still have time for some self-care throughout the day.
You can create a simple, flexible routine for the kids to follow during their summer vacation. What time should they do their chores? What time can they play outside? Do they have time to watch TV or play video games? As you do so, you can also figure out what summer self-care routines you’ll be doing throughout the day. For example, you can meditate or read a book while your kids are preoccupied with a show or video game.
Spend time by yourself or with friends.
Having your kids stay at home all day for two months leaves you with hardly any free time for yourself. While spending quality time with your children is important, sometimes you do need to step out of the house every now and then to recharge. You can ask your spouse to take care of the kids in the meantime, but if that isn’t an option, you can also find a nanny or another mom that you can trust and ask them for some help.
With your kids properly being taken care of, it’s time to indulge. You can choose to spend the day alone any way you like. You can go to a cafe, or visit the museum – even going to the mall for a bit of shopping is a great summer self-care activity. If you’d rather have company, then this is the perfect time to round up some of your old friends to catch up with each other.
Take the smaller self-care opportunities, too.
Sometimes, life is just too hectic and busy that you can’t spend hours practicing self-care. But that doesn’t mean you have to abandon it entirely. Whenever you have the chance to take a breather, make the most of it. Your morning cup of coffee may only last a few minutes, but it’s still a moment of peace that you can savor before you have to get up again. Doing deep breathing exercises also takes no time nor preparation to do, and you’d be surprised at how relaxed you’ll feel after. Always take your moments of peace, no matter how short they may be.
Take care of both your mind and body.
Many people believe that self-care has an emphasis on mental health, but staying on top of your physical health is just as important. Try to look for activities that can benefit both aspects of your health. For example, yoga combines physical, mental, and even spiritual practices into one activity. It can help you clear your head and keep your body active.
Another effective summer self-care method is by booking regular massage appointments. Massage has numerous benefits both for your mental and physical health. It can lower stress levels, boost serotonin and dopamine levels, increase blood circulation, encourage lymphatic drainage, relax any stiff muscles, and much more. You can even look into home massage spa services, so that you don’t have to leave the house to indulge in some self-care. Massagedaily.ph has plenty of massage types for you to choose from for your next self-care routine.